Sunday, June 26, 2011

Crochet Partaaaay!!!

My friend and I had a home business party last night featuring Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, and yes... our own crocheted items. It was open house style, and we were a little nervous about how it would work out with so many things represented... but it turned out fabulous! It was a great way to support friends with home businesses, and also promote what we were trying out with our own products.

The idea came about when we were brainstorming about how to promote our products without having to go to a million and one fairs and bizarres. As many of you know, these events can be expensive, and hard to handle for the growing business. I grew up visiting my grandmother and her fellow grange ladies at many of these events... the time, money, and all around effort that goes into even one event was more than my friend and I could put into our own promotion at the moment, so we decided to try another approach first.

Given the fact that both of us had home business experience, we decided to try out the concept with crochet... and it worked! If you have ever thought about promoting your own products, get creative. Think outside the box and find a way that works for you, in your own unique situation.

Good luck and have fun!

Collaborate and Create!

I know it has been a long time since my last blog... but here we go!

So,  my friend and I tried out a needle craft group last week and had a blast! There were ladies there representing a variety of generations and crafting styles. It was a great way to network and spread the crochet love!

Collaboration is a great way to share ideas for future products and learn some tricks from others... even from other crafting styles! One lady in the group was knitting a beautiful scarf that could easily be converted into a crochet pattern, another was knitting a sweater and talking about the opportunities she has to knit for retailers. I happened to be making up some washcloths and other items from my spa line (and will be forever known as the first one to start and finish a complete project at the group! haha).

We all talked patterns, and yarn, and projects... techniques and opportunities... work and life... and in the midst of it all, we met new friends and learned a little more in the process!

If you have ever thought about getting involved with a group of fellow needle crafters, or even fellow crocheters, I highly recommend it! You might be surprised at how fun AND productive it could be :)

If you're interested, but haven't been able to find one, create you're own! Get off the couch and go down to your neighborhood coffee shop (or other hotspot), or get together with friends, or inquire at local community places (churches, granges, community centers, etc), or... (insert your fabulous idea here). Collaborate and Create!



* Purely Crochet is a group dedicated to the art of crochet. This blog is dedicated to promoting and educating it's readers regarding crochet and crochet artists. I appreciate your feedback and suggestions, so please feel free to contribute! Let me know who you want to know more about, what you want to learn, and any other questions you may have... 

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